Justina Blakeney is the founder of the Jungalow: a colorful style full of plants and patterns that is spreading all over the world! “Jungalow” is bungalow + jungle so far away from Minimalism and Scandinavian style. The Jungalow is warm, full of sun light and easy!

Thank you to CasaFacile I had the chance to interview Justina, the queen of the Jungalow Style! She is positive, nice, energetic, full of life, passion and creativity. If you listen to her even for just few minutes you will want to be her friends, re-décor your home and even move some mountains too! Justina is one of those special persons with that peculiar sparkler in her eyes that can see beauty in everything and connect with people. I am extremely fascinated by her! Watch this video and you’ll understand immediately what is the “Justinaness”!

“I’m not afraid to try things! Get in there, get dirty and experiment and make those mistakes and don’t just feel paralyzed by failure. I want empower people”

“Perfection is unattainable and non existent, just be the best version of yourself, that’s good enough!”

You can find her interview on the April issue of CasaFacile magazine, and here there is the whole version:

Q. We do love your Jungalow style and its spirit “Feel free, have fun, decorate wild!”. How do you came to this wild and free mix and match?A. I traveled a lot as a kid (I even lived in Firenze for seven years!) (Sì, parlo anche l’Italiano!) I think seeing how others lived and soaking up different ideals of beauty through different cultures taught me to appreciate the mix — and the allure that lives in the contrast of colors and shapes. As for my ‘wild’ side, I’ve always loved what nature can do to enliven a space — and I believe that surrounding yourself with plants and flowers increases the quality of life. It’s fun, isn’t it?

Q. You have a deep Boho heart, have you always been in this mood and style?A. I have always been a creative spirit, a bit of a vagabond and I’ve always loved to make my way through the world in a carefree and artistic way. I think in this way I have always been boho.

Q. We do believe that decorating is about having fun and expressing yourself, what would you like to say to those who are afraid to make a mistake or a wrong interiors choice? A. I would like to say that you will make mistakes—and that’s OK. I make bad choices all of the time — the idea is to learn from these mistakes and to get better and to grow. We don’t make good choices until we learn how! You learn what you love and what looks good by doing—and it’s natural to make mistakes. But just go for it! Let loose! Have fun! Stop thinking about it so much and just experiment.

Q. Your Jungalow style is about textiles and patterns, mix and match them in the right way is a kind of magic: do you have any advice to do this?A. My advice would be to pick a color palette with 2-3 colors, and when you’re picking different patterns, pick them within that color story. You will find you can mix and match endlessly if the colors work well together!

Q. What do you feel seeing how much you inspired people in their own homes?A. That’s probably my favorite thing about this work. I have so many people who share photos with me on Instagram — and say things like “you’ve totally inspired me to add more plants into my home!” or “your wallpaper makes me feel so happy when I wake up in the morning” or “your book changed the way I feel about decorating!” This makes me feel like, in my own small way, I’m making the work a better, happier place.

Q. Plants are essential into your style. What is a house without plants? What plants can bring into the interiors?A. I think that plants breath life into interiors. It has been proven in many studies (even one done by NASA) that plants keep people healthier and happier. Plants are so sculptural, they can act as art, too. And I think that as humans, we are meant to be with nature. It makes sense to live together with our plant friends!

Q. We do love how you play with plants in your kitchen, have you some tips to arrange them there?A. I love plants in the kitchen! It’s fun to have herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary and stevia are some of my favorites) but I also like to decorate with plants in the kitchen — it makes the space feel even more fun and more wild!

Q. You really chose a different path: while kind everyone was into Minimalism and Shabby style you brought the Jungalow to the table: when did you understand that it was working?A. I think I’ve just started to realize it now—since you’re asking me this question, ha!! But seriously, when I started the Jungalow Instagram feed and saw how quickly it has grown (we started it in July, 2015 and now have over 213,000 followers) I was like “woah!” people get it! Everyday I’m more excited about people joining the Jungalow Style movement!

Q. You are a prop stylist, a designer, a book author, an interior designer… which is your favorite part of the job?A. Right now, I’m having the most fun with the product and pattern design. But I think that part of what I love is changing what I do everyday!!

Q. This year you’ve launched your own home products, how do you feel about this?A. I feel amazing!! This has been a dream of mine for many years and I am so humbled that it is actually becoming a reality. After years of doing graphic design and interior decorating, it’s the perfect way to marry my talents and skills. Designing patterns and objects (my furniture line with Selamat will be real eased next month) is truly my passion, and I didn’t even know that until I started doing it!

Q. You are beautiful, strong, comfortable in your skin and creative, a real positive model for women: can you point out a moment in which you understood you’ve found your voice?A. Wow! Thank you for that! I think this is something that I work on everyday. Some days I feel more confident than others—but I always try and remember that everything that I do, my daughter is watching and learning. If I am not kind to myself, if I am not kind to others — these are examples I’m setting for my daughter. When I think of it this way it is easier for me to be positive and be honest, because that is how I want her to be.

Q. Which is your favorite room at home?A. Each room is my favorite at different times of day! I like to follow the sun 🙂

Q. Which is the item you have at home that you most love and why?A. It changes all the time! I do love my plants. I also love the heirloom pieces I got from my grandparents — like the Verner Panton “s” chairs that they passed on to me. I will never get rid of those!

Q. You lived in Italy for 7 years. What do you liked of our Country? What did Florence leave into your heart and style?A. I absolutely loved living in bella Italia. I love how fresh life is there. I love the attention to detail. I love the appreciation of art, design, food and ‘la dolce vita’ in general. I met so many amazing people, I learned so much about art and design. Living and working in Italy as a young American woman, and as a woman of color (I’m half African American and half Eastern-European Jewish American) was also an experience that made me push myself to live outside my comfort zone. I had to get used to being a foreigner, and pushing my own self to feel accepted in different culture, different country and different language. This was a life-changing experience for me and taught me a lot about myself.

Q. What is there on your desk in this right moment? A. Paint, watercolors, my iPhone, paint swatches, my book “The New Bohemians” print-outs of my furniture samples, some pattern designs I’m working on, a Pantone Swatch book, samples from my wallpaper, pictures of my daughter, a vintage brass box and a vintage turtle magnifying glass.

Q. The mistake you would be proud to repeat.A. I have had one million different kinds of jobs, and some I’ve loved, and some I’ve hated, but in each one I’ve learned something about myself—about the kinds of things that I want to focus on. A lot of people tell you that you have to focus on one thing in order to succeed in a career, but I have found that having a wide array of interests and experiences has set me up to be able to handle all different aspects of my business.